Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Marching Towards a New Decade of Life

Isn't hard to imagine that 2014 is merely 15 days away? Which means my 50's are in the past tense 14 days from now? All I can say is that it feels weird to me this time around; normally my birthday comes and goes with little fanfare, and that is my preference. This year will be pretty much the same, or so I hope, but entering a new decade is meeting with a little resistance on my part! I'm glad I have Christmas and the party to focus on.

And, of course, my little business.

It rained Saturday evening, not long before Angela's party. I knew she'd gone to considerable trouble to have a nice outdoor space set up, and I hoped it wouldn't last long. My hopes were realized thankfully. Michael, Angela's son is getting to be a big boy, surpassing his Mom in height now, and that's saying a lot as Angela is 6'1".
I still remember when they moved in across the street when he was just a wee lad. Here's a Christmas picture I took of the family in 2009. The party was successful, however, she's told me she's not anxious to hold another anytime soon. Lots of work and stress involved, as we well know. That said, I'm so looking forward to December 28. :)

Waking up Sunday morning to rain, we questioned whether or not we should set up. Bruce decided to brave the weather, setting up the tent with sides, which is no easy task when there are sprinkles involved. Here's how the sky looked while I was driving down Orange Avenue.
Not so good, right? The reflection on the building windows shows that the sun was really, really trying to make an appearance, but except for an hour here and there, it was pretty much a no-show. And so it was with shoppers. Hoping that two weeks before Christmas might be a good sales day, that was not immediately the case as most folks come to my booth for entertainment. This family is a good case in point, using my photos to test their children's knowledge. They went through every single one, letting the boys call out what they saw.
Normally there are loads of folks listening to Joseph sing;
rarely are there this many empty tables. Except, all of a sudden, after about four hours, there were folks, still not too many, but those who came were buyers. Somehow, by days end, I sold 24 prints and one small canvas. Do not ask me how! If there's one thing I've learned after nearly seven years selling at this market it is that "you never know how the day will end!"

Throwing this in here because I want to:
Must be the orange, right?

On my way home I saw this wedding party in a nearby park.
I would NOT have wanted to be in the wedding party, wearing a sleeveless gown on this cold and dreary day!

You may have assumed that all the Christmas decorations I photograph are ones I find amusing, and this is mostly what I do, however, I love a classically pretty scene as much as the next person. Simple and beautiful.
Symmetry can be a wonderful thing. Of course our house looks nothing like this, however, it is nearly fully lit. Then too Bruce did a project for me yesterday afternoon after going to his office to pass out gifts, mostly the desk calendars, which some folks seem to like. Speaking of calendars, last week a fellow at Darden emailed Bruce telling him that my cover photograph for the City calendar is of one of his employee's homes! I sent him the digital file so he could make a large print and frame it for her Christmas gift which hopefully will be a nice surprise. If you live in Orlando long enough, you'll find that there are connections everywhere you go.

After Sunday's market I suggested to Bruce we go for dinner at a little local place, except it was closed. So, we went to another little local place, an Italian restaurant directly across from Montclair Street. Parking the car we couldn't help but notice the empty lot. The restaurant? Two diners. Hmmm.....
Normally this would be a sign that we pass on a place, except not this time. As we were getting our salads, who should come up to the table but Rich, our nephew, carrying his youngest son Cam! Because they live within walking distance, they make regular pizza runs there. After a nice chat, he picked up his ready pizza, placing it and Cameron in the little red wagon, and off they went. :)

I'm going to be doing my own deliveries today, followed by helping Trish pick out a paint color for the new office bathroom. I'm anxious to see the new digs!

And so the days march on...

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